Page 19 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
“Yesterday,” I begin, “Yuna came to see me at Julie’s in the morning. She said she had to talk to me and even had Mr. Kim attack Bobbi to buy some time.”
“Is he dead?” Tony asks, his voice serious.
“No! Why would you think that?” Bobbi’s not prone to extreme violence.
“He went against Bobbi. I’m wondering if I need to get her a lawyer.”
“He’s very much alive, so she doesn’t need a lawyer. Anyway, Yuna told me soul mates always find each other even when they’re reborn and don’t remember each other.”
“That’s…sentimental.”
“She can get emotional about certain things.”
“I know. She calls you her soul sister.”
The reminder sends a pulse of wistfulness through me. I need to make up with her as soon as possible. But for now: Tony. I hate it that I have to talk about this because it’s awkward, and the kiss that Tony’s brooding about is about as significant as a child’s first attempt at Lulli’s “Chopsticks.” Byron should’ve kept his mouth shut.
“I didn’t want to believe her or think about it because I was still unhappy about what happened. So when Byron asked me to go on a drive with him, I said yes. He took me on the same scenic route you and I drove before. And all I could think about was you, which I didn’t like. I think he saw it as a chance to tell me how he feels about me, then he kissed me.”
Tony’s face is terrible. If Byron were here, Tony would punch him. Then throw in a few kicks to the gut.
“Was it good?” he asks, his voice hard and ugly.
I can’t decide between crying and laughing. Doesn’t he already know the answer? “Of all the things. You’re hopeless.”
“Hopelessly crazy about you.”
That’s sweet, but this is so over the top and… I stop, realizing that maybe his reaction isn’t all that unreasonable. If Tony told me Audrey kissed him, I would be bristling with jealousy too. Hell, I might throw a bucket of wine at her.
“Well?” he says.
I could just tell Tony that Byron is a shitty kisser, but I don’t know if Tony would accept such a pat answer. That’s what any girlfriend would say to soothe their boyfriend.
I consider for a moment. “Have you ever listened to a competent pianist play Mozart? It’s technically decent, performed at the right tempo, but it doesn’t really go beyond that and you’re left sort of like, ‘That’s it?’ Because, you know, it’s so flat and blah.”
“Yes.”
“It was something like that.”
“Byron Fucking Pearce, the Flat and Blah Kisser.” Tony smirks. “I wish I’d recorded that so I could play it back to him.”
“Oh my god. You can be so unreasona—”
“Over and over again.”
I shake my head. “I’m with you, right here, right now, and you’re thinking about the other man.”
He laughs, not entirely with humor. “You’ll never understand what it’s like to be me.”
Except I want to. Badly. “So help me understand.”
He reaches out and takes my free hand, careful not to touch the cut. “I feel like I’m holding the greatest treasure in the world. And every other man wants to steal it from me.”
“Nobody can push me away from you except you, Tony. I’m not going to let anything destroy what we have. I promise.”
He brushes his thumb over my cheek tenderly. “I’m glad you’re back, Ivy,” he whispers. “I’m never letting anything hurt you again. Not even me.”
